january 31th

OILERS SHELVE SOURAY

The Edmonton Oilers placed defenceman Sheldon Souray on the injured reserve list Wednesday because of a left shoulder injury.

Souray, who was shelved for 27 games earlier this season, reinjured the shoulder in last Thursday's 4-3 shootout victory over the Florida Panthers.

He played only seven minutes 26 seconds before departing for the dressing room.

Souray nursed the injury over the NHL all-star break, but he was forced to leave Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks in the first period, and did not return. He suffered the original injury — a second-degree sprain — in a 4-1 loss to the
Vancouver Canucks last Oct. 13.

Souray has totalled 69 goals and 196 points in 532 games over nine NHL seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens and Oilers. He was drafted in the third round (71st overall) by New Jersey in 1994.


MONTREAL POLICE ISSUE WARRENT FOR GUY LAFLEUR

Montreal police have issued an arrest warrant for retired NHL superstar Guy Lafleur.

Lafleur's lawyer, Jean-Pierre Rancourt, revealed Wednesday that the hockey legend is being sought for providing contradictory evidence on the witness stand at his son's bail hearings.

Rancourt said he was "shocked" by the warrant because Lafleur, a hockey Hall of Famer, shouldn't be considered a flight risk, and will turn himself in Friday morning.

Lafleur, 56, testified last September that his son, Mark, was abiding by a court-imposed curfew as he stayed with his parents in their Ile Bizard, Que., home. 

But a month later, Lafleur testified before Superior Court Justice Carol Cohen that he knew of the 12:30 a.m. ET curfew, yet, when Mark was on weekend leave from the Maison Exode halfway house, he twice drove his son to hotels to give him privacy with his teenage girlfriend.

"He respected it — except for twice — when he asked if he could go to a hotel," Lafleur testified. "I thought that, at 22, he had a right to some intimacy."

Cohen later revoked Mark's bail, noting in her ruling that Lafleur was aware his son was breaking the conditions of his bail, yet did nothing to stop him.

Mark Lafleur, 23, faces more than 20 criminal charges, including sexually assaulting a minor, armed assault, uttering threats and forcible confinement between 2004 and 2007.

He remains in jail, pending a trial.

Guy Lafleur spent his first 14 NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, then ended a three-year retirement to play three more seasons with the New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques. 

Drafted first overall by Montreal in 1971, he compiled 560 goals and 1,353 points in 1,127 NHL games before retiring for good in 1991.


KOVALCHUK INJURED IN THRASHERS VICTORY

The Atlanta Thrashers lost Ilya Kovalchuk to a knee injury while ending a five-game losing streak in Wednesday night's 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. How badly the Thrashers leading scorer was hurt couldn't immediately be determined.

In his first game since Sunday's all-star game, also at Philips Arena, Kovalchuk scored his 38th goal but was injured in a knee-on-knee hit from Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu in the second period.

Kovalchuk made a breif return later in the frame for one shift. He missed the third period and will be examined by team doctors on Thursday.